I'll Take One Mushroom Swiss Burger Pizza

...hold the burger.

I love the looks I get when I say that.  Mushrooms, onions and swiss are meant to be together.  Like, for always.  So delicious.  But I don't eat animal flesh.  Not for just about 6 years.  I have issues with factory farming, and the toll animal agriculture takes on our environment.  However, I'm not here to try to persuade you of anything, except to quit being a fucking douche about it.

Found on Google.

I usually tell people I'm a vegetarian if we're planning on eating together.  I'm not doing it to proclaim I'm better than anyone or to imply we have to go to a vegetarian/vegan restaurant. I'm telling you so that hopefully we can go somewhere we BOTH can eat.  I love salad man, but sometimes: I'm hungrier than a salad can satisfy, or the place only offers a side salad.  Sure I can eat fries, or some other side, but that's not a meal.  I'm totally willing to make do if I have to.  I regularly visit a very small town, so a Subway Veggie Delight it is, for dinner.  Other times I volunteer the information is if I'm offered food that I don't know the ingredients or know has meat in it.  I used to try to be all, "No, thanks, I 'm not hungry." Or, "I just don't like {whatever}." But unfortunately that can lead to a lot of wasted back and forth.

For the most part people are chill.  My brother and dad give me a lot of ribbing, yet they still make an effort to ensure I can eat. But sometimes, sometimes you get people who just want to fucking argue with you.  I am not telling you to not eat what you want.  I'm just saying it isn't for me, so can it Chachi!

E'rrybody loves Chachi.

I hate that we live in a world where it it seems to tick people off when a personal choice is made for the greater good instead of personal satisfaction.  And I'm not perfect, believe me.  I still eat cheese.  (It is like cocaine, man.) I know how dairy farms work and how they keep cows producing milk.  I'm still working on this. And I know that there are small farms that do not treat the animals to be sacrificed for food, in the same manner the factory farms do.  For me, it's just easier to be a vegetarian.

The one time I truly got pissed though was when I worked for Head Start.  We had two days of training - mostly informational sessions for teachers (I was the Business Director), and one session about changes to the food service.  There was some talk about substituting food for children with either medical reasons or religious reasons.  I raised my hand to ask about children who were raised vegetarian or vegan.  "No, no substitutions will be made for them, because it's a choice that they eat that way."  WHAT?? What the hell do you think a religion is?  It's a choice and people choose what to believe in.  A medical condition can't be helped.  If they eat something they are allergic to, then they could die.  You can change your religion whenever it suits you.  I know. I was baptized Catholic as a baby, went to a Southern Baptist church as a child and teen, and now I'm a Pagan.  So, tell me again why you can give them substitutes based on their belief in a religious teaching, but not to me because my belief is based on my moral compass (which some people equate to religion)?

I just want people to get over it.  I've never encountered nearly as much animosity from any other lifestyle choice I've made than I have for this. 

Today I ate: some crackers and a couple slices of Mushroom Swiss Burger Pizza - hold the burger, coffee

Today I bought: nothing